Sofitel London St James review

The address is 6 Waterloo Place, in St James's, in the City of Westminster. The building is a Grade II listed neo-classical bank headquarters, completed in 1923 for the army banking agency Cox & Co. to designs by E. Keynes Purchase and Durward Brown; its wartime bomb-proof room once kept the King's stamp collection. Sofitel began turning it into a hotel in 2002.

Piccadilly Circus station, on the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines, is 300 m away, a five-minute walk. London Charing Cross is eight minutes on foot and Waterloo about twenty. By the hotel's own figures, Victoria is 15 minutes by car and St Pancras International 12, and its brochure puts Heathrow and London City Airport each about 50 minutes away by Underground. In summer the hotel packs picnic baskets for St James's Park.

In a straight line, Bank, in the City of London, is 3.1 km away and Canary Wharf 7.9 km, so the hotel suits the West End and Westminster far better than the financial districts.

The hotel has 183 rooms, 21 of them suites, designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon, who also led the 2020 renovation. The brochure breaks them down: 8 Classic rooms, 69 Superior, 35 Luxury King, 21 Luxury Twin and 29 Premium Luxury, then 4 Studio Suites, 9 Junior Suites, 2 Deluxe Suites, 4 Prestige Suites, Suite 70 and the Opera Suite.

The Luxury and Premium Luxury rooms measure 32 m² and take three guests; only the Premium Luxury rooms look over Waterloo Place or Pall Mall, while the Classic, Superior and Luxury rooms carry no view. The Studio and Junior Suites are 35 m² with a king bed and a double sofa bed, the Deluxe Suite 49 m² with a separate living room, Suite 70 measures 79 m² and the Opera Suite 109 m², with a dressing room, a dining space and the only kitchen in the hotel. The size of the Classic and Superior rooms is not published.

There are 32 family rooms and 32 connecting rooms, and cots and extra beds for children can be requested in the Luxury rooms and in most suites.

Wild Honey St James is the hotel's strongest card. Chef Anthony Demetre cooks modern British food with classic French technique, and the MICHELIN Guide, which gives the restaurant one star in its 2026 list, describes it as a brasserie de luxe in a Grade II listed former banking hall. Dinner is served from Tuesday to Saturday, 17:00 to 21:30, and lunch from Wednesday to Friday, 12:00 to 15:00. It is closed on Sunday and Monday, so book your starred dinner on another night.

The Bistrot at Wild Honey, opened in April 2024 on the same chef's ideas, serves a seasonal bistro menu. The Rose Lounge, run by head pastry chef Lerrick Coelho, is the room for afternoon tea, including a Phantom of the Opera afternoon tea, with a choice of teas and Champagne. The St James Bar is a small cocktail bar that the hotel calls award-winning without naming the award, and from May to September a pop-up, Bistrot on the Terrace, serves outdoors. Children have their own menu and a kids' afternoon tea.

The Sofitel Spa is spread over three floors. The hotel brochure gives four treatment rooms, among them a private couples' suite, while a spa directory counts five. There is a private Turkish hammam with a heated marble treatment bed, a steam room, a jacuzzi for two and a relaxation space. Treatments use Sothys, Codage and HydraFacial, and the Su-Man facials are exclusive to this hotel. The spa opens on Monday from 10:00 to 17:00 and from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:30. The official pages do not say whether visitors who are not staying at the hotel can book.

There is no pool, and no sauna is listed on any official page. The gym, Sofitel FIT, sits on the first floor with Technogym equipment and an AlphaSphere relaxation chair, is open 24 hours and is reserved for hotel guests, with personal trainers on request.

If you want to swim, The Savoy and Raffles London at The OWO, second and third in our ranking, both have an indoor pool and hold three MICHELIN Keys each.